January 2010

January 26, 2010

1. The cooking update: From Cooking Light Way to Cook, I have made Sage Risotto with Fresh Mozzarella and Proscuitto, Basic Crepes (which I have renamed Sunday Morning Crepes), Chicken with Rosemary Dumplings, and Calzones. Also made a Triple Decker Peanut Butter Cake with Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting. But - surprise!- that wasn't Cooking Light. And in case you were wondering, every single creation was fantastic, so it's a good thing I'm supposed to be packing on the poundage right now.

Hungry?

2. Incidentally, the risotto and cake were requested by Derrick. Usually, I don't take requests, but it was his birthday so I decided to humor him. :)

3. Sadie picked out the birthday candles for Daddy's cake. Is it surprising that he celebrated his 32nd with the likes of Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Belle?

Birthday wishes:

4. Basement renovations are *officially* in progress. It started as a perfectly innocent conversation about three weeks ago, and now, there are framed walls in our basement. I admit it, I'm excited. But not so much as Derrick. Nothing like a tradesman with his own project. You'd think he's Mike Holmes or something.

6. Speaking of Sadie, I refused to give her a brownie the other evening after she refused to eat her dinner. She immediately asked me if she could go to Grandma's house because she could eat a brownie there. How quickly they get us all figured out, no?

7. Have you seen these: Ka-Zoo Frog Box Kit and Ka-Zoo Dog Box Kit? Adorable! If Sadie had a Valentine's Party, I'd be all over it, but in the meantime, I'll be thinking of ideas for celebrating here at home. I was thinking...cupcakes? How do you celebrate with your little people?

8. What, you're not at CHA? Me neither. But I've been virtually attending CHA with the crew at Write.Click. Scrapbook. and you can too! Check out Day Two right here.

9. It occurred to me that if I continue with Self-portrait Tuesdays, I have the opportunity to watch myself age over the year. Ugh. It has the distinct potential to be frightening during April and May.

January 19, 2010

1. Lately Sadie has been telling me that she's a baby puppy. Where this comes from, I do not know, but interestingly enough, she decided to photograph her "cage" (I think it's worthwhile to note here that those are her words, not mine):

2. The little shutterbug has itchy fingers:

3. And because we are showcasing Teddy, I should mention that this bear does not leave her side. My cousin gave me Teddy at my baby shower, and for whatever reason, Sadie is wildly attached to the bear. When we decided almost a year ago that Sadie could sleep with a stuffie, we tried to vary them out so that she wouldn't get attached to just one. That lasted for two days, and suddenly and inexplicably, Teddy was the only one she wanted. He's started to look a bit worse for wear, and I tried to find some "back-up Teddies," but Target changed the Classic Pooh, and the new one just wouldn't do. Months after I had given up, we found the whole line of them at Blockbuster, of all places. There was a lightly hysterical moment where I was holding every Classic Pooh stuffie in the store, but Derrick negotiated me down to two. As it turns out, she doesn't like Teddy Two and Teddy Three, and absolutely insists on the real Teddy.

4. World Time Zones, a website for people - like me! - that cannot and will never be able to remember time zones anywhere other than where they currently live. And even that, is a stretch at times.

5. Yesterday, Sadie told me she was having a baby brother. Today, she
gleefully reported to the doctor that it was definitely a sister. I wish she'd make up her mind all ready.

6. 500 Days of Summer:
"Boy meets girl" with a twist. Two thumbs up! In fact, it kept me from
doing anything productive on my assignments last night. Big surprise,
no?

7. Nine weeks to go. Panic mode will be setting in shortly.

8. Someone is turning 32 on Friday. I might have to whip up something with peanut butter and chocolate in it.

9. Somehow in the last several years, I have metamorphosed into someone that actually likes to cook. Well, mostly, I like to eat, but cooking is all part of the equation. At Christmas time, Derrick *surprised* me with several stainless steel pots and pans. And while it may not sound like a Christmas gift with romantic flair, I was totally thrilled. I'm nothing, if not a practical girl, and I love cooking utensils, cooking gadgets, dishes, placemats. Anything kitchen, with the strong exception of anything that requires extensive handwashing. Those items, I do not love. At the top of the kitchen list are my cookbooks. The newest - and brilliant, if I do say so - find:

I am a visual person, and this is a cookbook for visual people. It also happens to contain the basics. Everything from picking out fish at the market to making a decent risotto, and every step-by-step has photos. Gorgeous, mouth-watering foodie photos. LOVE it.

January 15, 2010

Last week when I hosted the Write.Click. Scrapbook blog, I discussed the new year, and talked about different layout ideas and scrapbook projects. Well, I still have project fever, and fittingly, the theme for the January Garden at Two Peas is New Year's. Check out some of these designs:

The Year 2009 by Sheri Horton - a great double-page year-in-review summary!

New Year by Stephanie Dagan - as usual, love her eye for detail and choice of color - perfect!

January 12, 2010

1. For peanut butter lovers: P.B. Loco. Derrick is a bit of a peanut butter lover freak, and so when we saw P.B. Loco and their gourmet butters on the Food Network, I filed the idea away for a potential Christmas gift. I bought six flavors. He took Peanut Butter with Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough to work (hmmppph!) but just so happened to leave Peanut Butter With Raspberry White Chocolate at home. I'd give it five stars since I can't seem to even look at the jar without running to get a spoon. Although any food with white chocolate chips can pretty much win me over every time.

2. Speaking of peanut butter, Sadie's new favorite book includes the line, "Hey Sphtlunk, do you knowth wath PB and B standth foth?" which she thinks is hilarious.

As far as PB & B goes, she's not so sure about that yet. Even if I spring for the white chocolate raspberry.

3. Gymtastics = Success! Among other things, the super fast, super slippery yellow slide was a super hit. And happily, we are becoming very good at yelling, "Ta-DA!"

4. NOT a good day to cry over spilled milk.

5. Try as I may, ignoring the issue did nothing, so last night I decided that it would be a good time to tackle the mountain of digital photos hiding away on my external hard drive. In the very first folder, I found this little gem (that I'm posting for the MacAskills - enjoy!):

7. Most people don't like Mondays, but seeing as how this is the only day that Sadie will nap, I'm growing quite fond of Mondays. Of course once baby is here and sleep is a thing of the past, the day of the week probably won't matter anymore.

8. It's embarassing to admit, but I really like this song: Flaunt It. I have to warn you though, the lyrics are VERY complicated. :)

Today, I wondered if my neighbors would see me through the window and think I was crazy for running back and forth to the camera 42 times. Now that I've typed that, it DOES seem a little crazy. Just a little. It's really hard to do self-portraits without a remote. Maybe I should get one. Add it to The List.

January 05, 2010

Every once in a while, I come up with good ideas all on my own. This, however, isn't one of them. Good idea, yes, but it belongs to Elizabeth whose clever ideas have more than once made me wish I could just be her for a day or two. Ten on Tuesday in 2010. Elizabeth, you are so cool, and I especially like that I can now copy you without the guilt of feeling like a big, boring copycat (read Item #2 here).

So here we go, Ten on Tuesday. Might as well toss it in there with Project 365:2010 and hope for the best before life comes to a screeching halt sometime around the end of March. :)

1. I have an itch to stitch. I'm going to start with this. I've been actively avoiding anything fabric-related because I can sense another obsessive-compulsive hobby coming on, but this nesting thing is taking over and making me feel domestic.

2. 144 beats per minute. But that was while he/she was not actively practicing her tae-kwan-do moves. Which he/she does religiously from 11 pm to 2 am.

3.

Why didn't anyone tell me that TV has dramatically improved since the onset of the Survivor craze?

4. One of my personal favorites from the pile of toys that Sadie now owns:

I especially like "The little kitty, the little kitty forgot how to meow. The little kitty, the little kitty. All he can say now is woof-woof and bow-wow" sung to the tune of "La Cucharacha." I was standing in the soup aisle at Safeway today, singing "the little kitty, the little kitty...." You can call it crazy if you want, but I prefer the more PC term, "pregnancy brain."

6. Sadie's favorite phrases right now are, "I'm helping you, Mommy," "I'm so ex-KITED," and "Umm, probably." The last one most memorably used in context was when I asked her if she was going to be a writer because she tells such good stories.

7. Awkward is being six months pregnant and waddling into the liquor store (with a two-year old in tow) to ask for red wine. Rest assured, it's only for cooking. But still. Awkward.

8. Speaking of awkward, Sadie starts her GymTykes class on Friday. I sure hope they don't expect me to do any rolls or tucks or balance beam-y type things. Frankly, anything more complicated than just standing there with my hands in my pockets could be a challenge at this point.

9. "Had they known at these moments to be quietly joyful? Most likely not.
People mostly did not know enough when they were living life that they
were living it." Elizabeth Strout from Olive Kitteridge

January 01, 2010

I'm a self-proclaimed night owl, and yet, I never ever manage to make it to midnight on New Year's Eve. I've always considered it an overrated holiday, but since becoming a parent, every holiday has taken on more significance, so I'm trying a lot harder to be festive. Sadie didn't get to stay up until midnight, but she made it to 9:00, and that was pretty good if you happen to be fond of hyperactive children who sing "Jingle Bells" at the top of their lungs while dancing their own patented moves. :)

And when I woke up this morning, I realized that my paper-free holiday is officially over. Back from holidays and back to work, if you can call scrapbooking "work." Tee-hee. I'm excited though because one of my Christmas presents to myself was a little sale shopping at Two Peas, and I'm happy to dive right in to my new supplies. It's always hard to get back in to the post-holiday routine, but new scrappy schtuff always helps!

I have lots of things on my to-do list for the new year, but first I wanted to share with you the lovelies from the first garden of 2010. Everyone was so busy during December, I am sure, but there are so many inspiring pages in the gallery. Here are a few that caught my eye:

First Haircut by Kandis Smith - Her pages are just charming. Love the attention to detail and the way she pairs elements together. The little person in my life just got her first haircut, so this page caught my eye right away. :)

9 in, nine out by Sheri Horton - I cannot begin to tell you how much I love this idea. Definitely on my list for the new baby, but I'd love to scrap this kind of comparison of Sadie as well!

Baby, It's Cold Outside by Jen Matarkis - I'm increasingly drawn to digi designs. Something to try more in the new year? Anyway, love the color combo of Jen's page. I really like it with the black and white photos.

And before my holiday, I made a few pages for the 4x6 photos theme (more photos and details here):

I used my Silhouette to create and cut the line of stars along the top edge of the layout, and I adhered them with foam adhesive.

The little package is just a piece of stamped cardstock overlayed on a square chipboard embellishment that I didn't plan on using for its original purpose (it was a preprinted baby accent that wasn't too cute).

The title and journaling were both created in Photoshop, and I printed them on white cardstock, which is something I love to do and it makes my scrapbooking so much faster. I don't have to wrestle with any chipboard letters or try to find the exact right color of stickers or an extra "e." Simplify, simplify.

The little wild card tucked under the photo doesn't have any significance other than that I liked it because it's a bill of sale for sugars, etc. Suited my page.